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GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Bobby Bowden doesn't want the NCAA messing with his win total -- or with his ongoing duel with Joe Paterno.

In the wake of the Florida State cheating scandal, the NCAA plans to take away wins from 10 FSU teams, including as many as 14 victories belonging to Bowden and his football program. The sanctions were announced in March, but FSU officials are appealing.

"I'm going to tell them to fight like you know what," Bowden said Monday at the ACC's annual preseason media gathering. "I don't cuss, but you can write that down. I'm going to tell them to fight it all the way. "

Bowden has 382 career victories, one fewer than Division I-A career wins leader Paterno of Penn State. When he retires, Bowden does not want to be looking up at Paterno on the wins list.

"Somebody there [at the NCAA] ought to understand what's happening in this world. They're just going to kill a good dadgum competition," Bowden said. "Because they take those games away, that game's over. ... I hope they don't.

"I'd love to have [the record]. I'd love for my children and grandchildren to be able to say that's their old man up there."

The NCAA has ruled that 61 athletes on various FSU teams either cheated on an online test in a music history course in 2006 and 2007 or received improper help from FSU staff members who provided them with answers to the test and typed papers for them.

"The most severe penalties are appropriate when the academic mission of the university has been compromised," the NCAA infractions committee said in a June response to FSU's appeal, according to the Associated Press.

Taking away victories is too stern a penalty, contends Bowden.

"As soon as we found out which kids were involved, we suspended them," Bowden said. "Are they opening up a can of worms here? Does that mean next year when So-and-so State has a kid, middle of the season, gets caught cheating, they found out he cheated three weeks ago, ... they've got to go back and forfeit all those games?"

Bowden wished the NCAA had stayed out of the affair.

"What did [FSU] do to the other students? Gave them an 'F.' That should be plenty. Let the universities handle their cheating."

The stripping of wins is the only part of the punishment that FSU is appealing. FSU also was put on probation and lost some scholarships.

"We didn't know they cheated," Bowden said. "As soon as we spotted it, we made them ineligible."